Rate of Exchange in Iran

The rate of exchange for the dollar in Iran is currently 9200 Rials for a dollar. When I left Iran it was 70 Rials for a dollar. Still, considering the state of the economy, the dollar is cheap. A more reasonable rate of exchange seems to be 30000 rials for a dollar. Naturally, I am speculating a bit without giving well-founded reasons. But considering that the rate of inflation is more than 25%, my speculation does not seem to be far from reality. The price of housing seems to double every 18 months (a kind of Iranian Moore's law) and that is a good indication that things are not quite right.

Despite the high inflation for many years, the rate of foreign currencies seem to change in a surprisingly well-bahaved fashion. This is very uncomfortable for anyone holding large sums in Rial. However, relatively high interest rates for savings ensures that people keep their money in Rial.

The economy seems to be partially under the control of the government and mainly under the rule of a market economy. There is a clear conflict between these two forces. Meanwhile, the rich seem to get richer and the poor seem to lose more and more of their buying power.

Sooner or later the currency should be allowed to float. Then, it will not take a long time before we see 30000 Rials = $1.

Finally, if you happen to have all your savings in Rial, do not panik, I am not an expert in economy. But the expert investor should balance the level of greed and risk.

Souls and Algorithms

There is very little known about our souls. Apparently it doesn't weigh anything. However, if you put a soul in a body then this weightless thing start functioning.

Consider the following computer program.

(define flipflop
  (let ((state 0))
     (lambda ()
        (set! state (- 1 state))
        state)))

This program is written in a computer language called Scheme. It returns a 1 and then a 0 and then a 1 and so on. What is interesting about this program is that it doesn't weigh anything. And if you put it in the right place in the computer, then it can do what it is meant to do. Interesting similarity!

Identity and Object III

If we enlarge the world by a factor och 1000000000000000 (or 10 to the power of 15) then you can see the smallest objects we know of. In fact you would see nothing other than these small objects (let's call them Q:s). You would see your computer screen as a bunch of organized Q:s, your finger will consist of another bunch of Q:s and so on.

Can you imagine such a view? If you can, then try to answer these questions:

- What does our usual notion of objects mean in such a world?

- When someone dies, what happens to the Q:s that form that person. Do all the Q:s survive? Where do they end up?

There are a lot of interesting questions that pop up in one's mind, and why don't I just leave it there.